Cincinnati Reds Caravan Makes Surprise Stop at Zane Grey Intermediate

ZANESVILLE, OH – The Cincinnati Reds Caravan made a few stops in Zanesville today.

Their first stop was here at WHIZ Radio, which is a Reds Affiliate station.

Jay Benson, the Station Manager, said that WHIZ has been a Reds affiliate since around the 1950’s.

“It’s a nice fit.” Benson said. “They have gotten to the point where they like to stop here in Zanesville. They love the fans, they love the fanbase, and so we like to have them here. It’s often a private deal and we can’t open it to the public but at the same time, it’s great to have them up here on Broadcast Hill.”

Joe Zerhusen, the Reds Public Address Announcer, said that it’s just great to meet more of the Reds fanbase.

“Reds Country is something that’s pretty special.” Zerhusen said. “The fact that we have such a big geographic footprint is tremendous. To be able to get out and to meet people at the fan stops we have at the bigger locations and those are very nice. But one of the things I think is very special about what we do is that we have these stops that go to stations. That helps the radio station because they can have people like their main clients and some of their staff just come in and do a nice little meet and greet.”

Their second stop was a surprise stop to Zane Grey Intermediate school.

Clay Lawyer, the Associate Principal at Zane Grey, said the kids had no idea the Reds were making a stop.

“We told them today that there was going to be an assembly this afternoon but outside of that they had no idea.” Lawyer said. “Even our 12 student V.I.P’s, they had no idea. Earlier this week [students] were asked to write a question, “What would you ask a professional baseball player?” and we took the 12 best questions, most creative, most thoughtful questions and they were told about 5 minutes prior. That they were going to meet some professional baseball players, you’re going to ask them questions, you’re going to get a baseball and get it all autographed. Their jaws hit the ground, they were very excited and looking forward to this.”

Students were able to ask the players questions like, how do they recover after a game, what kept them going through hard times, and who their favorite player was growing up.

Lawyer called the Reds stop an amazing experience for the kids at Zane Grey Intermediate School.